


Secret Garden

by LesbianKJ



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A lot of things get left unsaid, Bonding, Childhood Memories, Comfort, Courtyard, F/M, Fire Lord Zuko, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Character Death, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Post-War, Romance, Supportive Katara, Zuko Angst, a start to a deeper bond, i was told that this is poetic, making the first step to the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 15:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19023070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianKJ/pseuds/LesbianKJ
Summary: The Courtyard where Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai grew up in was private and kept away. Yet somehow, Katara managed to find it.





	Secret Garden

**Author's Note:**

> Written for[Zukosunquestionablehonor](https://zukosunquestionablehonor.tumblr.com/)

And the sun made her eyes an even lighter blue, almost clear. They stole his breathe and thoughts right from him. She was the center focus, the main event, only she held his attention and everything else faded away. She looked like she belong there, like if she left the place would feel wrong, empty. This courtyard was filled with childhood memories and glee, it’s where he and his mother fed the turtleducks, where he and Azula chased each other, where Mai and Ty Lee became their family. Memories that were otherworldly and jarring, now that he’s grown and the Firelord. How he avoided this place like the plague, unable to get back in touch with that childlike innocence. 

 

How fitting that it would be her, the water tribe girl, to shake down his foundation. Hadn’t Katara done that time and time again? Shake up his world and leave him in awe. She was a force to be reckoned with and she never let anyone forget it. He was there for her growth, first as an enemy and then as a friend, a witness to her determination and strong will. 

 

And here she was, in a place that he hadn’t visited in years. Sitting on the very fountain that he’d once pushed Mai in, staring at him quizzically while he lost the will to speak. A blush crept up his neck and he averted his eyes, embarrassed.

 

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

 

“And why not here? It’s just as nice as everything else.”

 

_ It’s filled with haunted memories, innocence, and naivety.  _

 

“It’s closed off to everyone,” Zuko said. “Including the Royal Family.”

 

“Why?”

 

_ We like to forget.  _

 

“A memento of our mother.”

 

_ A reminder of us escaping our father’s abuse. _

 

“Would you mind telling me more?”

 

“About her or this courtyard?”

 

Blue eyes stared into his hazel ones; it felt like she was staring into his soul.

 

“Whatever you’re comfortable with sharing.”

 

_ I wish I had the courage to tell you about the terrors we faced. I wish I could talk about the bruised wrists, fallen tears, and crushing despair. The cause of my anger and Azula’s mental breakdown.  _

 

“We use to feed the turtleducks here, me and my mother,” Zuko said. 

 

He turned to the pond to the left of him, can almost see his younger self and his mother tossing pieces of bread. 

 

“Azula never joined, she thought it was silly.” 

 

_ She had fallen in the pond and vowed to never feed the turtleducks again.  _

 

Zuko pointed to the apple tree across the courtyard.

 

“Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai stayed under that tree most times.”

 

_ Ty Lee would do Azula’s hair as they all talked about everything and nothing at once. Every time that I came close, they would shoo me away. If Lu Ten was home, Azula would tell me to go bother him instead. _

 

“This fountain.” Zuko smiled and shook his head. “Most of the mischief happened at this fountain. We were always pushing each other in, finding the most creative ways to do it.”

 

He walked towards it and touched the stone, running a hand along it before he sat down. A breathe that he didn’t know that he was holding released itself and the world seemed to tilt. It felt as if he was back in the past and yet still here in the present. 

 

Katara was silent, staring at Zuko as he closed his eyes. She touched his wrist and Zuko turned his palm up so he could grasp Katara’s hand. 

 

“This was our safe haven,” Zuko said. 

 

It was all he could say about their childhood, she and the rest of their friends knew the rest. Knew what type of man Ozai was, still is as he rots in prison without his bending. Katara squeezed his hand, and leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. 

 

“Mother showed us this courtyard. Not even Uncle Iroh knew about it. Imagine living here your whole life, and somebody comes and shows you a place that you never knew existed .”

 

He smiled, but the corners of his mouth twitched and he allowed it to falter away. The humor he thought to find there, wasn’t there and he couldn’t find himself to pretend. The urge to cry was there, even though he didn’t know why. Maybe it was hysterically funny, that this was a true haven for them because if Uncle Iroh didn’t know about it neither did Ozai. It was truly untouched by him, and maybe why the courtyard always felt apart from another world. They were free here.

 

_ Did you come here sometimes Azula? Were you ever free from him all alone? Did this place lose its magic touch? _

 

His chest felt tight, his throat aching as he felt the need to say something but couldn’t.

 

“It’s okay,” Katara murmured. “Take your time, you don’t have to tell me now.”

 

His eyes fluttered open, and he stared at the sky. Bright, blue and white complimented each other; the sun that gift him with his bending, glaring down at them, warming their skin. He could stay like this, with her, as if he didn’t have any other responsibilities in the world, as if he was not the Firelord. 

 

“One day,” He whispered. “I’ll tell you everything. I won’t keep it in. I will tell you.”

 

“It’s fine if you don’t.”

 

Katara kissed Zuko's cheek and squeezed his hand.

 

“I don’t deserve this,” Zuko whispered. “Your kindness. Not with my mistakes, and selfishness. If anything, Azula needs this more than me. She suffered by his hand far worse than me.”

 

Katara shook her head, and tilt her head to get a better look at him. His cheek wet with tears, and she wiped them away.

 

"You both deserved better. You were just kids."

 

"We all were," Zuko amended. 

 

He turned to her, staring into her blue eyes. She had gone through a similar pain as he did, as Azula, Aang, and all the other countless kids pulled into this war.

 

"We all deserved better."


End file.
